Rigour and Whimsy 2022 Bifrost

Trendsetting wine

Castanet - Feb 11, 2024 / 4:00 am | Story: 471003

Photo: Contributed

Wine: Rigour and Whimsy 2022 Bifrost

Winery: Rigour and Whimsy

Why drink it: This may be one of the most unique B.C. wines I’ve ever had. Made from Pinot Blanc and Gewurztraminer, it is citrusy, tart, sour, lightly, fizzy and very unconventional. This wine is one for the trendsetters in the crowd, eager to find out more about what’s happening in B.C.’s orange wine scene.

Located at Okanagan Falls, the winery was started by Costa and Jody Gavaris, who tried B.C. wine on their first date, fell in love and, well, now they own a winery. Their first commercial vintage was in 2016 and by 2018, they were selling their wines.

The name is an homage to “their shared commitment to seeking balance in themselves, in their relationships and in the natural world.” They focus on orange and amber wines, plus Gamay and Syrah. The name Bifrost, refers to a rainbow bridge that connects heaven to earth in Norse mythology.

Pair with: Strong cheeses and a hearty loaf of sourdough

Price: $28 at the winery. Call ahead or order online as the tasting room is only open from May to August.

Music pairing: Wild Child by Enya

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About the Author

As a kid, Shelley Boettcher often found herself in the back seat of a pick-up, exploring the back roads of the Okanagan Valley with her parents. They’d occasionally leave her and her brother in the car while they stopped at mysterious addresses to buy wine. They would emerge, clearly happy, as they stuck a box or a few bottles in the vehicle. Then they would continue on their journey.

But it wasn’t until a trip to Spain in 2000 that Shelley herself fell in love with wine. She came home from the holiday and promptly told her editor she wanted to become a wine writer.

And she did.

An award-winning food and wine writer and editor, Shelley holds her master’s degree in journalism and her advanced WSET certification, as well as her level 2 International Sommelier Guild certification. A wine columnist for the Calgary Herald, she spent a decade as CBC Radio’s national syndicated wine columnist and she has written three books about wine, including two that were Canadian bestsellers. Her byline has appeared in magazines and newspapers around the world, including the New York Times, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail and Postmedia newspapers across Canada.

Shelley has travelled throughout many of the world’s wine regions and countries, including Niagara, Oregon, Washington, California, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Australia, Germany, Argentina and the Republic of Georgia. A few years ago, she even tracked down and visited a winery in Denmark.

Shelley has also served as a professional wine judge regionally and internationally, including the Okanagan Wine Festivals, Vinitaly and the Chianti Classico Consortium. For more than a decade, she has been a restaurant wine list judge for the Vancouver International Wine Festival, too. She still teases her parents for sparking her love for wine, especially BC wine.

And her favourite? Whatever she's drinking at the moment.

You can follow Shelley on Instagram @shelleyboettcher or Twitter at @shelley_wine.

If you have a BC wine you’d like to suggest, email Shelley at [email protected] with the name of the wine and a short note about why you enjoyed it.